I was going to try and write something witty to accompany this post, but do I have to? I mean, I think the photos speak for themselves. And while you might be thinking, “Listen Elettra, I like to LOOK at pictures of pies, but I’d never actually try one – what a nightmare!” maybe its time to think again. These pie recipes come from my friend, Colu Henry, who is an absolute genius at throwing together recipes that look they took hours, when they really took minutes. In fact, her ability to pull a meal out of her back pocket landed her a great cookbook deal. With these 5 pie recipes, Colu proves you don’t have to be Martha Stewart, or Julia Childs, or whatever super-skilled-culinary-trained-person to bake an excellent, eye catching pie; you can just be impatient you, making magic happen in the kitchen. – Elettra

Cranberry Walnut Pie: This classic combination of cranberries and walnuts is enhanced by the addition of utilizing a whole-wheat pie crust, which adds a nutty note. Fresh cranberries usually can be found easily this time of year in your supermarket aisle, but frozen ones will work in a pinch! (See recipe in printable box below!)

Chocolate Tart With Raspberries And Marscapone: Creamy marscapone cheese is gently stirred together with raspberry jam to make a luxurious chocolate (!) puff pastry filling. It’s then layered with fresh raspberries and toasted nuts for a rich and decadent easy to assemble sweet treat. (See recipe in printable box below!)

Fennel and Sesame Seeded Apple Tarts: Individual tarts take the place of everyday apple pie for a fun take on Thanksgiving dessert. Puff pastry is topped with toasted anise-y fennel seeds and nutty sesame seeds for a savory-sweet post dinner treat. Top with your favorite flavor of ice cream such as sweet cream with fig.(See recipe in printable box below!)

Sweet Potato Galette With Rosemary Crust: Molasses and brown sugar are tossed with sweet potatoes and baked until golden for this twist on sweet potato pie. By gently pressing finely chopped rosemary into to pre-prepared crust it takes this galette from entry level to elegant in no time. (See recipe in printable box below!)

Spiced Honey Pumpkin Pie: We all love pumpkin pie this time of year, but the addition of smoky, spicy honey takes this dessert to the next level. The addition of this key ingredient provides subtle heat and creates a lacquered almost bruléed-like finish, giving cause to celebrate. (See recipe in printable box below.)

Cranberry Walnut Pie

Ingredients

Serves 8

2 cups fresh cranberries

½ cup chopped walnuts

2 teaspoons orange zest (optional)

¾ cup light brown sugar

9-inch store-bought whole-wheat pie crust

2 eggs

½ cup flour

½ unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°F. In a large bowl toss together to combined the cranberries, walnuts and orange zest with ¼ cup of the brown sugar. Spread mixture into the pie crust.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap dough onto baking sheet and prick all over with a fork. Fold dough up a ½ inch around create a border. Bake for around 15 minutes until the top is dry and the bottom is firm. Turn off the oven and leave the oven door ajar for 10 minutes more to further dry out the dough. Allow dough to cool.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl combined the jam and the marscapone cheese and stir until combined. Add the salt and stir again.

Spoon jam and cheese mixture into the tart and spread out evenly with an offset spatula until the bottom of the tart is covered.

Place raspberries on top of the tart, followed by the toasted nuts, making sure to distribute evenly.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 420°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut pastry into 8 even squares and place on baking sheet and prick all over with a fork.

In a small pan toast fennel seeds until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove and let cool then roughly chop.

In a bowl combined the apples, cinnamon and half the fennel seeds and toss together. Evenly arrange apples on the pastry, leaving ½ inch border. Sprinkle with the sugar.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating pan half way through and until pastry is golden brown and flaky. Meanwhile in a small pan toast sesame seeds until golden and nutty, about 3 minutes

Sprinkle tarts with reserved fennel seeds and sesame seeds and sprinkle with flaky salt. Serve with ice cream, of course!

Sweet Potato Galette with Rosemary Crust

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

1 large sweet potato, about 1 pound, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds

¼ cup light brown sugar

1 tablespoon dark molasses

1 9-inch premade piecrust

1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary

1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons milk or half and half

2 teaspoons sugar in the raw for sprinkling

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and par-cook the sweet potatoes for 3 minutes. Drain and place in a large bowl. Add in the brown sugar, molasses and gently stir together until combined. Purée half of the mixture with 1 tablespoon milk or half and half.

Place pie dough on lined baking sheet and gently press in the rosemary. With a spatula transfer the purée mixture to the dough and spread it out evenly leaving about a ½ inch edge. Top with remaining potatoes and artfully overlap them. Fold the pastry edges up over the edge of the sweet potatoes, creating a 1-inch border. Brush with the remaining milk or half and half and sprinkle with the raw sugar.

Bake for 25-30 until crust is golden and potatoes are cooked through.

Spiced Honey Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

Serves 8

9-inch store-bought pie crust, defrosted

1 can of pumpkin purée, about 2 cups

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

4 eggs beaten

1 cup hot honey, such as Mike’s or Bee’s Knees

1 cup half and half

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl combined pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and salt and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl mixt together the eggs, hot honey and half and half and whisk until combine. Add to the pumpkin mixture and stir well until everything is smooth.

Pour into the pie shell and bake for 45-50 minutes until the pumpkin is set and the top looks caramelized. Allow pie to cool and serve with ice cream.

Spiced Honey Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

Serves 8

9-inch store-bought pie crust, defrosted

1 can of pumpkin purée, about 2 cups

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

4 eggs beaten

1 cup hot honey, such as Mike’s or Bee’s Knees

1 cup half and half

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl combined pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and salt and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl mix together the eggs, hot honey and half and half and whisk until combine. Add to the pumpkin mixture and stir well until everything is smooth.

Pour into the pie shell and bake for 45-50 minutes until the pumpkin is set and the top looks caramelized. Allow pie to cool and serve with ice cream.

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About Elettra

Elettra Wiedemann is the founder of Impatient Foodie, a food site that navigates her desire to marry Slow Food ideals with the realities of fast paced, urban life. Within just a few months of launch in summer of 2014, Impatient Foodie was featured in numerous publications including Vogue, The New York Post, The Daily Mail (UK) Elle US, Elle China, Yahoo Food, Yahoo News, Madame Figaro, and Racked, ManRepeller, and Food & Wine Magazine.